Ash borer's threat has region under quarantine

Residents urged not to move firewood

5:55 PM,
May 5, 2013

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation photographed the damage done to this tree by the ash borer beetle near Randolph. The bark to the ash tree had to be pulled away to expose the damage.

Written by

Andrew Casler
| acasler@gannett.com

Half of New York state is now under quarantine due to a pestilential bug chewing its way toward the Finger Lakes.

The culprit for the alarm is the emerald ash borer beetle. The invasive bug species proliferates by infesting entire stands of ash trees. Ash borers kill off their hosts. Infestations can go years without detection.

Forty-two counties are under a quarantine that went into effect May 1. It's an increase of 22 counties from the previous quarantine. ...